I’ll cut straight to the chase: big changes are going on at the Slice House this month.
You may recall from my previous musings that I started working here during the magazine’s previous incarnation nearly two decades ago – a teenager in need of some pocket money to pay for my first car. I was basically a girl Friday, and there was no paper I couldn’t file or coffee/dry cleaning/lunch I couldn’t fetch. Throughout the years, I’ve climbed the ladder starting from the very bottom, and I have to say I am quite proud of how far I’ve come.
However, over the last seven months, I’ve realized that 18 years really isn’t that long … in fact, it goes by in a blink. While I’ve probably clocked more waking hours since the birth of my son than at any other time in my life (barring my own infancy, perhaps – maybe my mother should weigh in?), the time feels shorter than it could possibly be. Seven (nearly eight) months old already? Impossible.
And 18 years is about the amount of time it takes to shepherd a child through to the time they get ready to leave the nest, right?
Blink.
It is coming all too soon to my own nest and I’ve decided I want to savor every single moment with my baby boy. Who will soon be a little boy. A kid. A tween. Teen.
A man.
Blink.
The symmetry feels uncanny, but maybe it’s because motherhood has put me in touch with an introspective side of my personality I didn’t know existed. After 18 years with my publishing family, it’s time for me to move on and focus on my little family… I won’t say my “real” family because they are both very real to me, but raising my son is my new full-time role.
As for the magazine, I’m not sure if the correct analogy is that I’m leaving the nest, or if I’m sending my baby off into the world without me. To be honest, it feels like a bit of both. An exciting, bittersweet time. A new adventure. A page turning.
And I can’t wait.
Next month you will officially meet my successor in this space, the very talented Heidi Rambo Centrella. You may recognize her name from her contributions over the last year, including this month’s “Off to School” feature on page 50. We are lucky to have such an incredible editor taking the helm and I look forward to reading each issue along with you.
